Friday July 1st, 4:48 am

Konata, who had fallen asleep watching her anime and reading her manga again, tossed and turned rapidly inside her bed, and yelled out in her sleep. This had gotten the attention of her younger cousin, Yutaka Kobayakawa, who had just gotten in. Seeing Konata clearly having a terrible nightmare, Yutaka quickly ran into the bedroom, turned on the light and shook Konata awake while saying, "Onee-chan! Wake up!". That did the trick as Konata bolted up, screaming with two manga issues flying off of her head (One was Sgt. Frog and the other was Haruhi Suzumiya). In fact, the technique worked a little bit too well, for as Konata shot up she ended up accidentally hitting Yutaka right in the face.

"Oh my god! Yu-chan, I am so sorry! I didn't know you were there", she sputtered, apologetically. "Oh it's all right, Konata. You didn't mean it. It was kind of my fault, but I had to wake you, because you were having a nightmare", Yutaka reassured her, while rubbing her nose. "Oh right, well I'm sorry if I woke you up", Konata apologized. "Oh you didn't wake me at all. Me and Yui just got in a few minutes ago.", Yutaka responded. At that moment, Konata's older cousin Yui Kobayakawa (she wasn't married to that Narumi guy yet) poked her head in the door and eagerly exclaimed "What's up, Konata-chan! How ya doing?". "Oh hiya, Yui Nee-san.", Konata responded. "I tell ya, I just had the scariest dream". "Oh really? Well I'm sure it couldn't have been that scary", Yui stated. "Oh believe me, it was scary", Konata explained.

"You see, Kagami and I were at school one day. Suddenly, this random girl emerged from the shadows of the hall out of nowhere, and started attacking Kagami. I tried to stop her, I really tried, but I couldn't move at all. I mean, it was like I was physically stuck to the floor, and I tried to yell for someone to help, but my voice wouldn't work either". As Konata was explaining her nightmare to them, tears filled her eyes. "The last thing I remember was Kagami screaming, 'Someone, help! She's going to kill me!'. I was so scared for her. She's my best friend and I couldn't help her. Can you imagine not being able to help your best friend?". As she said those last few words, she felt the tears rolling down her face, and she began to sob.

Seeing this unexpected emotional outburst, Yui and Yutaka both embraced their cousin. "Please don't cry, Onee-chan. It was only a dream.", Yutaka answered, trying to console her. "Yeah, besides, it's not like these sorts of dreams ever come true". Yui concurred. After a few moments, Konata finally regained her composure and wiping away her tears said, "I-I guess you're right. I mean, what are the odds of that happening in real life." She then stood up, looked outside, and could just see the sun rising higher in the sky (The actual sunrise that morning was at 4:28 am Japan Standard Time).

Well, technically, she couldn't see the sun very well through the clouds. She then said, "I think I might as well get ready for school now, because there's no way I'll be able to get back to sleep". Konata put her bathrobe on her arm and said, "Oh by the way, Yu-chan, as long as guys are here, you guys can crash in my room if you want". "Thank you, Onee-chan", Yutaka said, hugging her again. "Sure, anything for you guys.", as she walked down the hall to the bathroom. "Oh, be careful not to wake your dad. He just went to bed.", Yui reminded her. "Don't worry, I'll be careful.", Konata told her.

"By the way, I think you knocked out my last baby tooth", Yutaka added as she held the tooth in her hand. "I'm so sorry, Yu-chan. I really didn't mean it", Konata reiterated, as she grabbed a piece of tissue and put it where Yutaka's tooth had been. "Oh don't worry", Yutaka explained to her, "It was already loose and it was giving me grief". "Oh well, I didn't really know that", Konata answered, "That's a sign that you're really growing up". "To think, I'm 13 and a half. And I'm only losing my last baby tooth now", Yutaka responded, "Usually, by the time kids are 12 all their adult teeth are in". "Well, it does make you cuter that way", Konata empathized as she grabbed her clothes and her bathrobe and went to the bathroom to take her shower.

7:12 am

About 2 and a half hours later, Konata was waiting outside the house for the bus. She had on an orange T-shirt, green shorts, blue sneakers and sunglasses with square lenses, even though she didn't really need them today. On the last day of school, students at Ryouou didn't have to wear their school uniform. "Boy it's warm out this morning", she mumbled to herself as the school bus pulled up to the house. She got on the bus and searched for a seat. "Konata-san! You can sit over here if you want to.", Miyuki said as Konata moved next to her. She had on a white blouse, a black denim skirt and grey dress shoes.

"Isn't it warm out today, Miyuki-san?", Konata asked. To that Miyuki responded, "Yes, it is. When I left this morning it was exactly 77 degrees Fahrenheit, of course with the 89% humidity rate and the dewpoint at 73 degrees Fahrenheit, it feels even warmer, despite the amount of clouds out right now". "How the hell do you know these things?", Konata asked, clearly astounded by her knowledge. "I have this little thing on my bureau, that says all those facts when I push the button", Miyuki answered.

"Oh, OK then. By the way, did your father get in yet?", Konata asked. "Yes, he did, and much earlier than I thought he would.", Miyuki said eagerly. "He got in at exactly 2:46 am this morning. I was up most of the night with excitement, whereas I usually fall asleep no later than 10:00 pm.", she added. "I know what you mean, I didn't get much sleep last night either, you see, after the late-night anime block ended, I decided to catch up on Haruhi and Sgt. Frog, and I think I fell asleep reading them at like half past two". Konata said.

"Oh really?" Miyuki asked. "By the way, my cousins didn't get in until almost 5. Yutaka woke me up right as soon as she got in. Good thing she did, because I was having the worst nightmare". Konata responded back. "Oh?", Miyuki wondered. Konata then explained in vivid detail her nightmare to her. "Well, Konata-san. I don't think you have to worry about that becoming a reality", Miyuki reassured her.

At the same time, the bus had reached the Hiiragi's house, and Kagami and Tsukasa entered the bus. The older twin had on a green tanktop, a blue skirt, white sneakers, and sunglasses with round lenses, while the younger twin had on a white T-shirt, blue overalls, and red sneakers. "Good morning, Kona-chan. Good morning Yuki-chan.", Tsukasa said. "Hey you guys. What's up?", Kagami asked. "Oh, nothing really.", Konata answered back, "Excited about this being our last school day before summer break".

Konata did not dare tell either Kagami or Tsukasa about her nightmare for fear that it would cause them needless worry. Instead she put the thought away from her brain, and did not think anymore of it for the rest of the ride to school. As they got off the bus, just out of the corner of her eye, Konata could see a girl grumbling and muttering to herself, and clearly looking quite angry. The mysterious girl was also carrying something in her hand, but Konata couldn't tell what the object was. She got the feeling that something wasn't quite right, but she didn't think much more about it as she and the others walked inside.

Author's Notes

Chapter revised on Sunday April 15, 2012